Electrically operated game combination comprising an apertured game board and electrically conductive game pieces



July 13, 1965 D. A. WHITE ELECTRICALLY OPERATED GAME COMBINATION COMPRISING AN APERTURED GAME BOARD AND ELEGTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE GAME PIECES Filed Dec. 51, 1962 INVENTOR. DONALD A.WH\TE Fig. 3.

XM OMSMZoM Mus s United States Patent 3,194,560 ELECTRICALLY OPERATED GAME COMBINA- TION COMPRISING AN APERTURED SAW BOARD AND ELEC CALLY CONDUKZTIVE GAME PIECES Donald A. White, Indianapolis, Ind., assignor of one-fifth to Dane L. Love and eight-fifteenths to Howard W. Sams, both of Indianapolis, Ind.

Filed Dec. 31, 1962, Ser. No. 248,676 4 Claims. (Cl. 273130) This invention relates generally to games, and more particularly to a novel switching system of inexpensive reliable construction applicable to many types of board games and also to other devices such as teaching devices, for example.

There are a number of well known games which use game boards and playing pieces. Much additional interest can be added to such games if some electrically energized device is actuated when certain moves are made or when the playing pieces are placed in certain positions on the game board. Hereto-fore there has been no satisfactory means for achieving this.

It is, therefore, a general object of this invention to provide improved means for the use of electrical energ with games.

A further object is to provide means of simple, inexpensive, and durable construction for achieving the foregoing object.

A further object is to provide means which are completely safe.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2. is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 and including (partially schematically) the circuit of the invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating examples of shapes which can be employed for armatures and apertures according to this invention.

Referring to the drawingsin detail, the box 11 has therein a shelf 12 which supports a first board 13. This board may typically employ a fibreboard core 14 and a metal foil covering 16. Other construct-ions may also be employed so long as the board is reasonably substantial and so long as the upper surface 17 thereof is electrically conductive. As will become apparent this surface is usually used for the electrical common (ground) conductor. Therefore, the board will occasionally be referred to hereinafter as the ground board.

A second board 18 is preferably made of an electrically non conductive material. This board has a plurality of apertures 19 therein, and these apertures are normally circular though other shapes can also be provided if desired.

A second shelf 21 is provided in the box and a third board 22 rests on this shelf. The construction of this board may be somewhat like the first board. Apertures 23 are provided in the third board. The upper surface 24 of the third board should be of electrically conductive material immediately adjacent the apertures 23 and it is desirable, when feasible, to have the electrically conductive material extend into the apertures of the third board.

An electrical conductor 26, power source 27, indicator 28 and switch 29 are serially connected between the electrically conductive material of the first board and the electrically conductive material of the third board. An armature 32, which is typically a pin of electrically con ductive material with an electrically conductive head 33 thereon, is shown disposed in one of the apertures 23 of "ice the third board. The armature extends through the aperture 19 in the insulator board below the corresponding aperture 23 of the third board. The lower end 34 of the armature contacts the upper surface 17 of the first board. The underside 36 of the armature head 3-3 contacts the upper surface 24 of the third board and thereby completes an electrical circuit through the indicator 28 whenever the switch 29 is closed. It may be mentioned at this point that the power source 27 can be a battery or the low voltage output of a transformer or any other suitable source providing a voltage. The indicator 28 may be a bulb, a bell, a chime, or other device as desired.

If it is desired to avoid closure of the indicator circuit upon the placing of an armature in one of the arm-atures 23 of the upper board 22, an insulator block or plug 37 may be placed in the aperture 19 in the insulator board 18. Accordingly when the armature is placed in an aperture 23 above the insulator block 37, it is ineffective to close the indicator circuit.

To permit access to the insulator board 18, the upper board 22 is divided into two portions 22:: and 22b. These portions are mounted on the box by means of the hinge pin 38 .which rests in suitable recesses in the walls of the box 11. Accordingly, either portion of the upper board may be raised independently of the other to permit access to the underlying portion of the insulator board.

This facilitates installation and removal of the disks 3'7 Operation In the application of the present invention to a game such as checkers, for example, the two portions 22a and 22b of the upper board would be marked with the appropriate number of light and dark colored squares. An aperture 23 would be provided at the center of each square. An aperture 19 would be provided in the insulator board 18 under each of the apertures 23. The checkers 41 would be secured to the heads 33 of the armatures.

During the course of the game of checkers, the checkers would normally be used with the armature projecting upwardly as at 42 (FIG. 1). When a checker reaches the king room of the opponent, the checker is inverted by the player whereupon its armature projects through the aperture 23 of the upper board. If there is no insulator disk 37 under the armature, the armature will close the indicator circuit and energize the indicator. If there is a disk under the aperture 23 there will be no energization of the indicator device.

Each of the opponents can, at the beginning of the game, place indicator blocks 37 in whichever of the apertures 19 on his respective side of the board he desires. For example, the person sitting on the side of the box 11 with upper board portion 22a immediately in front of him, raises portion 22a and places disks 37 in whichever of the apertures 19 he desires. The raised portion 22a will obscure his opponents view of the portion of the insulator board which normally underlies the board portion 22a. Therefore, the positions of the disks will not be detected by his opponent sitting with board portion 22b immediately in front of him. Likewise, the player with board portion 221) immediately in front of him can also place insulator blocks wherever he desires in the portion of the insulator board lying under portion 22b of the playing board. a

By each player having his portion of the insulator set up with insulator blocks 37, the other player cannot move a checker king without fear of energizing the indicator, whereupon he may lose his king according to the a rules of the game. Thus, an added element of suspense and interest is provided by the present invention.

It will readily be recognized that the present invention is applicable to many games other than checkers. Also, the shape of the apertures 23 in the board 22 may be varied at will. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, they may be in the form of a circle 51, diamond 52, a star 53,

' triangle d, curve 56, square 57 and rectangle 53. Armatures 61, d2, 63, 64, 66, 6'7, 68 of corresponding cross sectional shapes as illustrated in FIG. 3 may be used. Also, the sizes of armatures of certain shapes may be made small enough to fit apertures of other shapes. For example, armature 61 may fit apertures 51, 52 and 53, but be too large to fitapertures 54, 56, S7, 58. By keying the armatures in this way, according to the specific game to be electrified by the present invention, it is possible to fully control which game pieces may be used in any particular location on the game board. Thus, thepresent switching system is adapted to a wide variety of games at a very low cost. V

In addition to use in games, the present invention can also be used in testing devices. The answer sheet. can be placed on the upper board. The disks 37 can be located so as to cause correct or incorrect answers to be registered as the person being tested places the armature 'in an aperture corresponding to his answer.

It will be recognized that in order for each player to be able to locate the insulator blocks without discovery by the other player, the sizes of the apertures inthe upper board should be small. Also, the chances of viewing the insulator board through one of the apertures in the playing board are minimized if the playing board is made rather thick. This would necessitate the player on the opposite side looking directly down through the playing board aperture to determine whether or not there was an insulating block 37 in position under the aperture. Also, the smaller are the apertures in the playing board and the thicker is the playing board, the less light can pass through the playing board to illuminate the insulator board and blocks below.

It should be understood that throughout this description and in the claims following,- the expression board is used generically for convenience. COHStILIC'tl'OIIDf the boards used for contact members and insulating members can be other than as specifically shown and described.

It should also be appreciated that the present invention can easily provide more than one switching system for a playing board. For example, the upper and/or lower board can be divided into two or more areas, each of which is electrically separate from the others. Each area can then be connected through its own indicator device to one side of the power source. The other side of the power source would be connected to the ground board. In this case, it would be necessary for a playing piece to make contact between the ground board and its own particular area of the playing board to illuminate the lamp for that area. the other areas could only be effected by a playing piece in each of those areas completing the circuit through the lamp for the area. g

It is not normally necessary to obtain a permanent unbroken contact between the armature and the first and third board because the indicator will be energized immediately when the playing piece armature contacts the lower board as it is pressed down by the player. However, if it is desirable to maintain energization of the in- Likewise, illumination of the lamps for head of the armature to enter the aperture in the playing board. In this way, contact between the playing board and the lower or first contact board may be maintained through the armature even after the players hand is removed, and even though there may be some variation of spacing between the boards. I

The present invention provides, with a minimum of wiring, as many possible switches as there are apertures in the game board. It permits use of construction materials and, techniques which can be handled easily by game manufacturers, paper houses and publishers, for example.

7 The switching elements or"armatures are completely The lower mobile.

While the invention has been disclosed'and described in some detail in the drawings and foregoing description, they are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, as modifications may readily suggest themselves to persons skilled-in the 'art and within the broad scope of the invention, reference beinghad to the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A game apparatus comprising:

a first board having an electrically conductive material on its upper surface; a i Y a second board above said first board, said second board being of electrically non-conductive material and having a plurality of apertures therein;

.a third board disposed above said second board and having a plurality of apertures therein aligned with the apertures in said second boar-d,'said third board having an electrically conductive material adjacent the apertures therein; I 1 a power source and an indicator serially connected be tween the electrically conductive material of said first board and the electrically conductive material of said third board;

a plurality of electrically conductive armatures removably received in apertures of said third board, each of said armatures having a game playing piece secured thereto, and each of said armatures adapted to extend through an aperture of said third board and an aperture of said second board and make electrical contact with the electrically conductive' material of said first board and electrically conductive material of said third board tocomplete an electrical circuit through said indicator, thereby energizing'said indicator;

and electrically non-conductive plugs removably disposed in selected apertures of said second board to preclude passage of an armature through said selected apertures and thereby prevent armatures inserted in apertures of said third board above said plugs from energizing said indicator.

2. A game apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein Y the thickness of said third board and the location of said third board with respect to said second board hide the said plugs located in selected apertures in said second board.

3. A game apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said third board has two normally co-planar portions connected' by hinge means to accommodate movement of said portions to non-coplanar relationship independently by players on opposite sides of the third board.

4. A game apparatus comprising: 7 a frame having facing side walls and facing end walls and first and second support means therein, said first support means being lower than said second support means; 1 a lower board having an upper surface of electrically conductive material, said lower board being supported on said first support means; an intermediate board resting on the upper surface of said lower board, said intermediate board being of electrically non-conductive material and having a plurality of apertures therein;

an upper board disposed above said intermediate board and having an upper surface marked to provide a game playing board, said upper board having a plurality of apertures therein registering with apertures in said intermediate board, and said upper board having electrically conductive material at said apertures, and said upper board having portions supported on said second support means;

a power source and indicator serially connected between the electrically conductive material of said lower and upper boards;

a plurality of one-piece electrically conductive armatures, each of said armatures contacting the electrically conductive material of said upper board, and each of said armatures adapted to extend through one of said apertures to said intermediate board and contact the conductive material of said lower board to make a circuit through said one armature and indicator, each of said armatures having a game playing piece secured thereto, and said playing pieces being movable from place to place on the game playing board, the apertures of said upper board fitting- 1y receiving said armatures and said one aperture in said intermediate board loosely receiving said one armature,

and a plurality of electrically non-conductive plugs, certain of said plugs being received in certain of said apertures in said intermediate board and supported therein by said lower board, said plugs preventing passage of armatures through said certain apertures, said plugs being individually removable from said certain apertures to thereupon accommodate passage of armatures through the apertures from which said plugs are removed;

and hinge means on said upper board permitting folding of said upper board portions toward each other to provide access by a first player on one side of said frame to certain ones of said plugs located in apertures of said intermediate board below the upper board portion which is on his side of the hinge and to provide access by a second player on an opposite side of said frame to certain of said plugs located in apertures of said intermediate board below the upper board portion which is on his side of the hinge, for rearrangement of said plugs by each of said players without observation by the other of said players.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,232,133 7/ 17 Warden. 2,197,306 4/ 40 Ingraham. 2,889,634 6/59 Bringmann. 2,970,385 2/61 Bringmann 273- X 3,104,878 9/63 Roger 273130 FOREIGN PATENTS 817,115 7/59 Great Britain.

30 DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner. 

1. A GAME APPARATUS COMPRISING: A FIRST BOARD HAVING AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL ON ITS UPPER SURFACE; A SECOND BOARD ABOVE SAID FIRST BOARD, SAID SECOND BOARD BEING OF ELECTRICALLY NON-CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF APERTURES THEREIN; A THIRD BOARD DISPOSED ABOVE SAID SECOND BOARD AND HAVING A PLURALITY OF APERTURES THEREIN ALIGNED WITH THE APERTURES IN SAID SECOND BOARD, SAID THIRD BOARD HAVING AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL ADJACENT THE APERTURES THEREIN; A POWER SOURCE AND AN INDICATOR SERIALLY CONNECTED BETWEEN THE ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL OF SAID FIRST BOARD AND THE ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL OF SAID THIRD BOARD; A PLURALITY OF ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE ARMATURES REMOVABLY RECEIVED IN APERTURES OF SAID THIRD BOARD, EACH OF SAID ARMATURES HAVING A GAME PLAYING PIECE SECURED THERETO, AND EACH OF SAID ARMATURES ADAPTED TO EXTEND THROUGH AN APERTURE OF SAID THIRD BOARD AND AN APERTURE OF SAID SECOND BOARD AND MAKE ELECTRICAL CONTACT WITH THE ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL OF SAID FIRST BOARD AND ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE MATERIAL OF SAID THIRD BOARD TO COMPLETE AN ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT THROUGH SAID INDICATOR, THEREBY ENERGIZING SAID INDICATOR; AND ELECTRICALLY NON-CONDUCTIVE PLUGS REMOVABLY DISPOSED IN SELECTED APERTURES OF SAID SECOND BOARD TO PRECLUDE PASSAGE OF AN ARMATURE THROUGH SAID SELECTED APERTURES AND THEREBY PREVENT ARMATURES INSERTED IN APERTURES OF SAID THIRD BOARD ABOVE SAID PLUGS FROM ENERGIZING SAID INDICATOR. 